After promising $5,000 in stimulus checks and $500 to Obamacare beneficiaries, Trump says he will send $90 to seniors enrolled in Medicare

Exactly one month before the midterms, with Democrats leading in various national polls and prediction markets, President Donald Trump added another promise to his list of payments, saying his administration will send $90 checks to millions of seniors enrolled in Medicare to help offset part of their health coverage costs.

"I am pleased to announce that my Administration will, immediately, begin sending 'Checks' of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums," he wrote on Truth Social. The official amount is $90.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed the plan on Saturday and specified that 20.8 million people are eligible.

In the same post, Trump said the money would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which Congress created in 2008 to fund general improvements to the program.

"This money will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pointless “Slush Fund” that has only been used by Dumocrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends, and drive up Healthcare costs. We are finally using this Fund, along with my Most Favored Nations Deals, to substantially LOWER costs for our Seniors."

The payments would arrive before November 3, when Americans will vote for their representatives in Congress.  Some beneficiaries will receive a direct deposit in early October, followed by a mailer or a letter from Trump himself, and others will receive a paper check from the Treasury Department later this month.

"The best way to improve Medicare is to put healthcare dollars back where they belong — in the hands of our Medicare beneficiaries," the agency stated.

Trump clarified that this $90 is separate from the refunds he claims to be sending to one million Americans whom, he says, former President Joe Biden overcharged for their Obamacare. These are $500 checks for beneficiaries of the ACA insurance marketplace in 30 states. The White House claims the previous administration overcharged them, but it has not presented concrete evidence. 

The president said Thursday that these payments have already begun to be sent out and clarified that they are one-time refunds and do not replace ACA subsidies for those under 65.

Now, beyond these extra subsidies, the president's biggest promise remains up in the air. This Saturday, Trump posted again on social media that he will send Americans $5,000 stimulus checks if Republicans win both chambers: "If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 Midterm Elections, I'm going to give all adult citizens in the United States of America, $5,000!"

According to various analyses, the cost would exceed $1.25 trillion, involving some 250 million adults. Lawmakers from both parties expressed skepticism, in part because the president did not explain what policy would underpin the payment.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said last month that the funds would not come from taxpayer taxes.

The immediate context also does little to bolster the presidential promise. In February 2025, Trump promised to return 20% of the savings from the DOGE program, which aimed to cut government waste, to citizens; later, Trump spoke of a "dividend of at least $2,000 a person" from tariff revenues; however, those promises did not materialize. Many have celebrated this fact, as the country's debt exceeded $40 trillion in August 2026, which amounts to about $117,000 per American.